Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST - Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,530 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 7,107 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Ross Stores were worth $2,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. S Bank Fund Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ross Stores during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,849,000. National Pension Service increased its stake in Ross Stores by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,379,679 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $176,309,000 after purchasing an additional 119,164 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 4.9% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 103,231 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $13,154,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 143.8% during the first quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 35,898 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,587,000 after purchasing an additional 21,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Ross Stores by 26.6% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 19,734 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. 86.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ROST shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Ross Stores from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Ross Stores from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $150.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ross Stores from $154.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ross Stores has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.06.
View Our Latest Research Report on ROST
Ross Stores Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:ROST opened at $147.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ross Stores, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.36 and a 52 week high of $163.60. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.34.
Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The apparel retailer reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $4.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.94 billion. Ross Stores had a return on equity of 38.77% and a net margin of 9.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ross Stores, Inc. will post 6.17 EPS for the current year.
Ross Stores Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.405 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ross Stores's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.59%.
About Ross Stores
(
Free Report)
Ross Stores, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its stores primarily offer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions. The company's Ross Dress for Less stores sell its products at department and specialty stores to middle income households; and dd's DISCOUNTS stores sell its products at department and discount stores for households with moderate income.
Further Reading
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